Scott Maslansky

Scott picked up some woodworking skills here and there growing up with a father who liked to tinker around the house. Following short stints as a handyman in college and as a roofer and carpenter during graduate school, he volunteered to help build and raise a timber frame for the Farm School in Athol, MA, and was hired to help complete the home.

While working on that structure Scott met Jim Heyes, then the Director of the North Quabbin Woods Project. Jim was looking for help on the new project and hired Scott as Community Forestry Specialist to develop an outreach program on forestry for local landowners. Scott succeeded Jim as Director in 2003 and in this role promotes the forest resources of the region as both a source for locally crafted wood products and for passive recreation. This unique economic development project gives him the opportunity to work closely with the North Quabbin Community and to learn a lot about forestry and woodworking.

At the North Quabbin Woods store visitors often ask Scott which products he creates and after a while he realized he really wanted to contribute. His main obstacle is that he doesn’t have his own woodshop, but as he discovered, “a wonderful part of this network is the willingness of woodworkers to help each other out.” So Scott has spent time in three different shops borrowing equipment and often learning a great deal in the process. “The woodworkers enjoy swapping stories and knowledge and it has been a great way for me to get to know their work,” he says.

Initially Scott made gifts for family and friends: a mobile of scroll sawn wood cutouts, photo frames, and a wood-burned canoe paddle. The first products he has sold in the store are a set of trivets using tiles produced in southern NH and various local species such as cherry, maple, and beech.

Warwick, MA

Email: smaslansky@hotmail.com